March Magic Seeds
We are super excited to introduce you to this month's Magic Seeds, but first let us tell you a bit about March's Daily Drinker.
Your big bag for this month is a beautifully balanced coffee from the Cajamarca region of Peru. This area in northern Peru is full of very remote coffee farms; some farmers have to drive for over eight hours to deliver their coffee to collection sites in Jaén. The remote locations and high humidity common in these mountains make producing quite challenging; however, in the past few years we have seen great improvements in coffees out of this region. Coffees from here are generally very sweet, as seen in this month's big bag.
a lone coffee farm set in the mountains of Cajamarca
The coffee in your big bag is a mixture of many small farmers throughout the Cajamarca region. These farmers do not produce enough coffee on their own to be isolated into individual selections. While this coffee is very good, full of chocolate, berry, citrus, and nut flavors, we do not see the same clarity of flavors as we do with this month's Magic Seeds. The mixture of multiple farms - each with their own variations of farming practices and multiple varieties - balances out some of those peaks but creates a more fully composed cup.
Although they are from the same area and quite similar in flavor, this month's Magic Seeds have more clarity in representation of flavors. The coffee, being from one farm with one variety, has a clearer representation of its uniqueness. Where the big bag calls to mind chocolate, nuts, berries, and citrus, we are seeing orange zest vanilla, macadamia nut and white chocolate in the Magic Seeds.
This month's Magic Seeds are grown by Cesar Calle on his farm, El Calaboso, in San Jose Lourdes. His farm is only about the size of two football fields and is planted entirely with the caturra variety; a variety known for its sweetness and citric acidity. The area around El Calaboso is filled with incredibly productive soil, full of organic material. Cesar, along with the members of his cooperative, are intent on preserving the environment and using ecologically focused farming practices.
caturra ripening at El Calaboso
Cesar's coffee is highlighted by the citrus zest aromas that are a direct result of his careful handling of the coffee once picked. He allows his coffees to go through a long fermentation process to fully break down all the coffee fruit and washes it three times to remove any residual sugars from the surface. This provides the clarity we are seeing in the final cup. He then slowly dries the coffee for 15 to 20 days, which helps to maintain sweetness and a smooth body.
the rolling mountains surrounding El Calaboso
While this month's bags are from the same region, Tony chose to roast this month's coffees very differently to further highlight what makes each one special. Your Daily Drinker was given more time throughout the roast process and finished at a higher temperature to lean into its sweetness and rich chocolate flavors. To highlight the brightness and clarity of Cesar's coffee he approached the Magic Seeds with a much faster roast profile and a lighter finish.
Cajamarca has been a favorite region of ours for years and we are excited to share it with you, the members of Acorn Coffee Club.